Join us for a screening of documentaries by international filmmakers presented by the Social Impact Media Awards in partnership with MILATIDO and ICA LA. SIMA is a media and education organization that distributes powerful short documentaries on social action. The program themes are service, meaning, and purpose.

Each screening will be followed by short Q&As, discussion, and reflection activities.

Pizza, popcorn, and beverages will be served.


Film Program:

Juanita, 2013 (22min)
Directed by Ximena Amescua Cuenca
A glimpse into the everyday life of Juanita, a Mayan traditional doctor, midwife, nurse, activist, and leader of The Awakening of the Women who Heal, an organization of midwives in the Orient of Yucatan, Mexico. Juanita has dedicated her life to helping others with her gift for healing. The film follows Juanita as she redefines the meaning of ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ medicine practices.

A New Path, 2014 (27min)
Directed by Gregory Walsh
19-year-old Mukesh Rajak was born into a marginalized community in an impoverished region of rural India. His childhood was marked by discrimination and social exclusion due to his status as a dalit, a member of India’s ‘untouchable’ castes. But a chance opportunity to attend a nonprofit private school would lead Mukesh to find his voice as a community organizer and citizen journalist. Everyday he rides his scooter from village to village documenting negligence and corruption in his region’s school system, convinced that a proper education for every child is the key to transforming his community for the better.

Barrio De Paz, 2016 (17min)
Directed by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
Set in Guayaquil Ecuador, Barrio de Paz tells the story of peace worker Nelsa Libertad Curbelo and the city’s gang youth, who have left behind a life of crime to come together and provide services to their struggling community. Loved like a mother, Nelsa has helped the gangs channel their need for unity, structure, and love into the power to participate in society.


Daniela Kon Lieberberg is the founder and CEO of SIMA Studios, a global impact media agency and distributor. Serving an international network of social impact creatives, educators, and activists in 140 countries, SIMA’s multiple arms include the annual SIMA Awards, grassroots screening series, SIMA X, and global citizenship education platform, SIMA Classroom. Bridging the spheres of media, human rights, and global development for over 15 years, Lieberberg’s work across South East Asia, the Middle East, and West Africa ranges from the award-winning documentary, TALIBE and the United Nations “Ending Hunger Campaign,” to collaborations in the fields of education, women’s empowerment, LGBTQ+ rights, food security, children’s rights, and modern-day slavery.

Juana María Pol Kinil is a Mayan woman who lives in the community of Uspibil, which at the beginning of the 20th century had 19 inhabitants. Uspibil is located in the municipality of Chemax in Yucatan, Mexico. She is a Mayan traditional doctor, midwife, nurse, and activist. Kinil leads The Awakening of the Women who Heal, an organization of midwives in the Orient of Yucatan, Mexico.


Founded by youth arts advocate Mila Diez Barroso, MILATIDO is a youth community organization anchored in research and the facilitation of intergenerational conversations around inclusion, diversity, heritage, narrative, and opportunities for change.

Service, Meaning, and Purpose: Meet the Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) is generously supported by Human Sustainability Project and Fieldwork.